After an impressive spring showing, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is high on his quarterback room.
While the Longhorns are headlined by former No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning, who’s shown flashes in his brief time on the field, Sarkisian was also highly impressed by backup quarterbacks, redshirt freshman Trey Owens and freshman Karle “KJ” Lacey Jr.
Steve Sarkisian Highlights Depth and Talent in Texas Longhorns’ Quarterback Room
Sarkisian praised the team’s quarterback room in his final spring media availability, telling the press Owens and Lacey fall “into the same mold as Arch.”
“Trey and KJ fall into the same mold as Arch,” Sarkisian said. “They throw a pretty ball. The three guys we have, they’ve all played their best when we’ve scrimmaged. That’s a good sign.”
Owens, a four-star recruit out of Cypress, Texas, was the No. 16 quarterback in the class of 2024. Lacey, a four-star recruit out of Saraland, Alabama, was the No. 19 quarterback in the class of 2025.
Sarkisian also found time to praise Manning, comparing him to his grandfather — Archie Manning.
“I think there’s something that’s unique about Arch,” Sarkisian told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “You can watch him throw and you see when you get up on him in person, man, he’s a bigger guy than maybe people think. When you watch him throw, the arm talent and the deep ball is there.”
“Then you watch him move and you’re like, wait, this guy’s a better athlete than I thought. Definitely got grandpa’s gene. It’s not the uncles, he got grandpa’s gene. There’s an infectious leadership that he has, that I don’t want to say is unintentional because he intentionally leads. You can feel that. But the unintentional leadership ability he has, players gravitate to him, they want to be around him.”
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“They like him for who he is, not for the name on the back of his jersey. And I think that’s something that he provides. He’s a fiery guy. He enjoys playing the game. Even in practice he’ll make a throw, and he’ll look over at me and wink at me almost like, ‘Did you like that?’ And so we have really good rapport, but I understand now because of my rapport with him, why the players have really good rapport with him. He just has a natural ability to engage with people.”
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